Jaguar XF Sportbrake arrives early

The Jaguar XF Sportbrake is due to debut next at the Geneva Motor Show, but we have the first image of the Sportbrake without camouflage.

The Jaguar XF Sportbrake – Jaguar’s long-awaited XF Estate – has been trumpeting its coming ever since Jaguar decided to go public with the news the XF Estate was on its way in the guise of the XF Sportbrake.

Jaguar even got trendy and announced the Sportbrake via Twitter, with an @sportbrake account cropping up, some slightly odd Tweets and a camouflaged XF Sportbrake making the rounds with @sportbrake emblazoned on the side. In effect, Jaguar was supplying the spy shots for the Sportbrake.

So we do wonder – in light of all that’s gone before – if the photo at the top has actually come directly from Jaguar PR. It shows the new XF Sportbrake, but with the front chopped off. It’s grainy, but why would it be grainy? It’s not likely to be a scan from a magazine – it just doesn’t look right for that. Still, PR plant or real leak, we finally get the undisguised money shot on the XF.

Jaguar look to have pulled the ‘Look at that wraparound glass’ trick on the XF Sportbrake – the same trick they use on the XJ – to make the glass at the back look like it wraps round and making the pillars look very slim. Apart from that the Sportbrake is just as expected; a swoopy coupe estate that’s all about the statement rather than the load-lugging. But it looks pretty good.

There’s a fair chance we’ll get more on the Jaguar XF Sportbrake later today.